December 31, 2011

A Chinese shrimp-fishing village thrived on the northern shores of San Francisco Bay (this is San Pablo Bay to the east of San Rafael) in the 1880s. Nearly 500 people, originally from Canton, China, lived here in its heyday.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

Chinese immigrants found employment building mines, railroads, tunnels, levies, and generally doing the heavy-lifting "White Man" didn't want to do. But work ran out and by the 1880's the Chinese found themselves without jobs--needing other employment. Discrimination against these foreign workers was rampant, however netting Bay-Shrimp was one industry left open to Chinese.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

Today the fishing village is maintained by the Park Service, with the help of Frank Quan who lives here, a descendent of one of the original residents.

Sadly and with regrets, China Camp State Park is scheduled to be closed due to budget constraints sometime next year. Frank's future is unclear at this point.

December 30, 2011

This image started out and remained a hopeless mess in Photoshop until I decided to take one last desperate move--to "posterize" the tones into a handful of hues.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

Another posterized image. China Camp is looked after by the impoverished Califonia State Parks, but is on the list to close next year--I don't know the exact date. (((See my Facebook page today for the full list)))

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

And I don't know the extent of the State Park closure. It would be difficult to keep everybody out. China Camp is a popular get-away for runners, hikers, and bicyclers--and Don has his camera...

December 29, 2011

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney on September 6, 2010

With your permission, I'm pulling a "switcheroo" today--I've tossed the image I was using as the header yesterday and found some older photos--three of them--shot 14, 15, and 17 months ago in San Francisco's Chinatown.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney on October 31, 2010

Again, these first three photos are a not new. I think this snap is a gem.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney on July 25, 2010

The vegetable stalls, meat markets, and delicatessens of Chinatown are
operated on a local level. Enterprise flourishes. The nearest Safeway is miles away.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney (recent image)

I'll have to send my buddy Diane Liu a note asking if she can translate this. Anybody else want to take a crack at it? It's in the window of a restaurant and bar on Waverly Place.

December 28, 2011

My good buddy Jan Bell emailed me yesterday suggesting I adjust the color of the tablecloth--my camera's white-balance settings didn't match the conditions. I shot through a heavy glass window with a color of it's own. Click to see uncorrected version from yesterday
This is looking into the window (in pre-dawn darkness) of the new and very elegant looking Epic RoastHouse, within spitting distance of the Bay Bridge.

Yesterday I did a little walk-around in San Francisco. First I explored a bit of the waterfront area, then moved up to Chinatown, finally taking a hike over to the Union Square area to see if I could get into the spirit of the holiday.

All the time I was thinking of YOU, my friend. I appreciate the old, and I have met SO many new friends this year. Really, I am quite a lucky guy. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

December 24, 2011

Splish splash, I was taking a bath
Long about a Saturday night
A rub dub, just relaxing in the tub
Thinking everything was alright

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

Well, I stepped out the tub, put my feet on the floor
I wrapped the towel around me
And I opened the door, and then
Splish, splash! I jumped back in the bath
Well how was I to know there was a party going on

They was a-splishing and a-splashing, reelin' with the feelin'
Moving and a-grooving, rocking and a-rolling, yeah

December 22, 2011

I'm sure I drove my parents close to distraction... Every time we crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge in our 1947 Pontiac I would ask why the bridge was painted orange instead of gold, as advertised.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

But of course, the Golden Gate was the gateway to the Gold-Country, a hundred miles or so to the east. Folks had been calling this area the Golden Gate 89 years (1848 to 1937) before the bridge was even built.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

And that little feature in the distance is Point Bonita Lighthouse. Fog in the area is treacherous and during the Gold Rush, before the lighthouse was built, 300 boats were reported to have run aground trying to find the actual but rather narrow entrance to San Francisco Bay, a mile or two to the east.

December 21, 2011

It's the middle of December now and most Californians are scratching our collective heads about the general lack of precipitation.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

The creek is rather peaceful now, but when the storms finally arrive my beloved Lagunitas is guaranteed to turn into a raging torrent.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

Trees will fall in howling winds. Gravel bars will be swallowed up and rearranged to who knows where. The trail will continue to get narrower in spots--perhaps this will be the year that parts of the trail completely vanish.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

And with all this rearranging going on, next year I will probably find new favorite rippled and reflective spots along my beloved Lagunitas.

Lets all say it together--"La-goo-ni'-tas". It means "little lagoons" in Spanish.

But the days of the week are pretty much a blur. It's been a long time since pay-day so specific days seem to matter little to me anymore. The sun will rise--obscured or bold--and I will do my best, regardless of the day, to be there and to vacuum up the colors, if any. Really, I am a lucky guy!

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

And when the colors seem to need just a little bit more, I'm there with a bag of tricks. The sky had a pinkish tone, but yes, I am easily amused...

December 18, 2011

Looks like I might have a new favorite spot under Highway One-Oh-One on the shores of Richardson Bay. Location; roughly between Mill Valley and Sausalito. Stand-by, because there are fine views of "The City" in this area also.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

I suppose this fellow would say that the only way to see Richardson Bay is to paddle it's perimeter in a kayak. Richardson Bay is a quiet fingerling of San Francisco Bay.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

Earlier Friday morning I had been visiting another favorite spot at Fort Baker, south of Sausalito. I'm sometimes a busy little beaver in the morning...